Public and private sector ethical iniiatives to combat corruption in Africa
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Today in Africa, there is a growing awareness that humanity is threatened not only by regional conflicts but also by continued injustices among peoples and nations, perpetuated through corruption. The root cause of corruption is due to lack of ethical behaviors by the leaders. Lack of respect for the poor has resulted into plundering of resources causing a progressive decline in the quality of life. The sense of precariousness and corruption that such a situation engenders is a seedbed for collective selfishness, disregard for others and dishonesty. Faced with the widespread corruption of the individual as well as of governments, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to enjoy equality in sharing the national resources as we ought to. The public in general as well as political leaders are concerned about this problem. And experts from a wide range of disciplines are studying its causes. Moreover, a new ethical awareness is beginning to emerge which, rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into concrete programs and initiatives. Many ethical values, fundamental to the eradication of corruption are particularly relevant to the ethical question. The fact that many challenges facing Africa today are politically motivated confirms the need for carefully coordinated ethical initiatives based on a morally coherent world view. So what are Ethical Initiatives required by both the government and the private sector to combat corruption in Africa in the 21st Century? As has often been noted, an important step toward addressing any problem is accurate diagnosis. Corruption has many characteristics or dimensions. Corruption in Africa is characterized by lack of moral ethics, human exploitation, selfishness, greed as well as oppression and absence of good governance that is ‘state failure’. The unethical governments are also faced with national economic mismanagement which leads to lack of justice and fairness. Such unethical practices interact and combine to keep individuals and at times governments in persistent corruption. So this paper intends to critically analyse unethical practices among individuals and governments that contribute to corruption, and how good initiatives could help in combating corruption. This paper will demonstrate that good ethics can cause profound changes in the politics of our times that could free the society from corruption.
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The 8th annual Ethics Conference
Today in Africa, there is a growing awareness that humanity is threatened not only by regional conflicts but also by continued injustices among peoples and nations, perpetuated through corruption. The root cause of corruption is due to lack of ethical behaviors by the leaders. Lack of respect for the poor has resulted into plundering of resources causing a progressive decline in the quality of life. The sense of precariousness and corruption that such a situation engenders is a seedbed for collective selfishness, disregard for others and dishonesty. Faced with the widespread corruption of the individual as well as of governments, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to enjoy equality in sharing the national resources as we ought to. The public in general as well as political leaders are concerned about this problem. And experts from a wide range of disciplines are studying its causes. Moreover, a new ethical awareness is beginning to emerge which, rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into concrete programs and initiatives. Many ethical values, fundamental to the eradication of corruption are particularly relevant to the ethical question. The fact that many challenges facing Africa today are politically motivated confirms the need for carefully coordinated ethical initiatives based on a morally coherent world view. So what are Ethical Initiatives required by both the government and the private sector to combat corruption in Africa in the 21st Century? As has often been noted, an important step toward addressing any problem is accurate diagnosis. Corruption has many characteristics or dimensions. Corruption in Africa is characterized by lack of moral ethics, human exploitation, selfishness, greed as well as oppression and absence of good governance that is ‘state failure’. The unethical governments are also faced with national economic mismanagement which leads to lack of justice and fairness. Such unethical practices interact and combine to keep individuals and at times governments in persistent corruption. So this paper intends to critically analyse unethical practices among individuals and governments that contribute to corruption, and how good initiatives could help in combating corruption. This paper will demonstrate that good ethics can cause profound changes in the politics of our times that could free the society from corruption.
Today in Africa, there is a growing awareness that humanity is threatened not only by regional conflicts but also by continued injustices among peoples and nations, perpetuated through corruption. The root cause of corruption is due to lack of ethical behaviors by the leaders. Lack of respect for the poor has resulted into plundering of resources causing a progressive decline in the quality of life. The sense of precariousness and corruption that such a situation engenders is a seedbed for collective selfishness, disregard for others and dishonesty. Faced with the widespread corruption of the individual as well as of governments, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to enjoy equality in sharing the national resources as we ought to. The public in general as well as political leaders are concerned about this problem. And experts from a wide range of disciplines are studying its causes. Moreover, a new ethical awareness is beginning to emerge which, rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into concrete programs and initiatives. Many ethical values, fundamental to the eradication of corruption are particularly relevant to the ethical question. The fact that many challenges facing Africa today are politically motivated confirms the need for carefully coordinated ethical initiatives based on a morally coherent world view. So what are Ethical Initiatives required by both the government and the private sector to combat corruption in Africa in the 21st Century? As has often been noted, an important step toward addressing any problem is accurate diagnosis. Corruption has many characteristics or dimensions. Corruption in Africa is characterized by lack of moral ethics, human exploitation, selfishness, greed as well as oppression and absence of good governance that is ‘state failure’. The unethical governments are also faced with national economic mismanagement which leads to lack of justice and fairness. Such unethical practices interact and combine to keep individuals and at times governments in persistent corruption. So this paper intends to critically analyse unethical practices among individuals and governments that contribute to corruption, and how good initiatives could help in combating corruption. This paper will demonstrate that good ethics can cause profound changes in the politics of our times that could free the society from corruption.